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Feed the Soil

My husband is an organic gardening guru.
I’ve heard him many times tell people
that the fundamental principle
of growing organically is to
feed the soil, not the plant.

We need to grow children the same way
by cultivating the soil they are sown in.

Good seed will grow
in the sunshine of Love
buffeted by the wind
visited by the pollinators
and watered by the rains
just as designed.

But is the soil brimming with essential nutrients
like a cornucopia of ideas, beautiful music,
a house full of books, well balanced meals,
or the crucial building blocks of creativity?
Is there a foundation full of fertile compost
comprised of former quality experiences,
problems to solve, riveting stories from history,
constellations of context
and collected contrary perspectives?
Are the rocks removed and impediments eliminated
so there is room and opportunity
for tender roots to tap deeply,
unimpaired, stable, and strong?
Are we mulching with affection
providing protection
from the derisive crowding of bullying weeds?
Fertilized with the most natural ingredients
and comfortably couching our cherished progeny
in all that is wholesome, excellent,
and tacitly encouraging
we can harvest our highest hopes.

Enrich the soil
and tend the environment
then your plant or child will flourish.
by Polly Castor
3/1/14

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